Shoichi Funaki
Shoichi Funaki (born August 24, 1968) is a Japanese American professional wrestler currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment wrestling on its SmackDown! brand. Born in Japan, Funaki now lives in San Antonio. Career Funaki started as a shoot style wrestler in Yoshiaki Fujiwara's Fujiwara Gumi promotion and moved to its successor promotion, BattlARTS. He later found the lucha libre style more to his liking, so he moved to the Great Sasuke's promotion, Michinoku Pro Wrestling. In that promotion, he joined with TAKA Michinoku, Dick Togo, Mens Teioh and Shiryu in the Kai En Tai stable. Funaki also wrestled in the Universal Wrestling Association (UWA) where he won the World Middleweight Championship from Pantera on March 19, 1997 in Japan. World Wrestling Federation In 1998, he, along with Teioh and Togo, joined the World Wrestling Federation. Initially, they feuded with TAKA Michinoku, until TAKA eventually turned heel and joined the group. Over time, the stable turned into a tag team, as in 1999, Teioh and Togo (and manager Yamaguchi-san) were given their releases. Michinoku and Funaki were often used for comedic purposes, often having their pre-match promos dubbed—while Michinoku would "deliver" the majority of dialogue for the duo, Funaki would "respond" strongly with a simple "INDEED". After Michinoku left the WWE, Funaki found himself as a lower card wrestler and adopted the gimmick of "SmackDown!'s number one announcer", performing backstage interviews between matches, while competing in the WWE's cruiserweight division. World Wrestling Entertainment In 2004 Funaki entered and won a cruiserweight Over the Top Rope Battle Royal for the #1 Contendership for the Cruiserweight Championship. The Battle Royal included such talent as Rey Mysterio, Spike Dudley, and Scotty 2 Hotty. At WWE Armageddon 2004, Funaki defeated Spike Dudley to win his first WWE Cruiserweight Championship. He later lost the championship in a six-man cruiserweight elimination match at No Way Out 2005. Since then, Funaki has mainly been a jobber to new and returning talent. During an interview with then Cruiserweight Champion Kid Kash on an episode of SmackDown! after Armageddon 2005, Funaki was assaulted by Kash, who gave him a brainbuster onto the interview platform. At the Royal Rumble 2006 pay per view, Funaki had the chance to face Kid Kash in a match for the title, when he was entered into a Cruiserweight Open along with 4 other former Cruiserweight champions, and the champ, Kid Kash. Funaki was pinned in this one fall match by Gregory Helms, who won the match and title. Since that time Funaki, would regularly team with Scotty 2 Hotty during episodes of WWE Velocity and WWE SmackDown!. However, during one such Velocity taping, Funaki suffered a 2nd Grade concussion, where he was unconscious for just under two minutes. Funaki would resume wrestling later that year, forming a tag team of sorts with Scotty 2 Hotty, which was mainly used to put over debuting wrestlers or tag teams. Shoichi Funaki made a one off appearance at the Puroresu King Indy Summit, on December 31, 2006, reuniting with Kai En Tai DX in what was being billed as a Kai En Tai DX Revival Ten-Man Tag Match; Funaki reteamed with TAKA Michinoku, Kaz Hayashi, Dick Togo & MEN'S Teio to face five other wrestlers. Funaki returned to WWE TV on February 16, 2007 on an edition of SmackDown in a brawl that involved the other SmackDown! cruiserweights and the then-Cruiserweight Champion Gregory Helms. His last appearance on television was on SmackDown on June 29, 2007 when he and Jamie Noble lost to Chavo Guerrero in a triple threat match. Wrestling facts *'Nicknames' :*"SmackDown!'s #1 Announcer" *'Finishing and signature moves' :*''Rising Sun'' (Top rope tornado DDT) :*'Jumping one-handed bulldog' :*Dropkick :*Camel clutch :*Leg cradle brainbuster :*Forward somersault three-quarter facelock jawbreaker :*Reverse DDT :*Enzuiguri :* Super Kick *'Quotes' :*"Indeed!" (dubbed) :*"This is Funaki - SmackDown number one announcer!" - in Engrish Championships and accomplishments *'Texas Wrestling Alliance' :*TWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *'Universal Wrestling Association' :*UWA World Middleweight Championship (1 time) *'World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment' :*WWF Hardcore Championship (1 time) :*WWE Cruiserweight Championship (1 time) Personal information *Funaki is fluent in Spanish. This was helpful when he was a regular in the short-lived WWE Spanish-language show Los Super Astros, which was televised on Univision. *Is married and has a son. *Is good friends with Lita and Steve Austin in real life. Austin, a native Texan, suggested that Funaki relocate to Texas. Funaki fell in love with the state, and has been good friends with Austin ever since. References * Funaki at Accelerator3359.com External links *Funaki profile at WWE.com {WWE Roster}} Funaki, Shoichi Funaki, Shoichi Funaki, Shoichi